Fondation Suisse de Déminage (FSD)

Since its creation, FSD has managed and implemented comprehensive demining programmes in more than 20 countries, covering the full spectrum of Mine action activities: - Design, management and implementation of humanitarian mine action programmes - Training and supervision of humanitarian national demining teams - Promotion of safe behavior in affected communities and work to inform communities about mine action activities in their communities - Promotion of best practices in manual and mechanical clearance. It operates now in Sudan, Burundi, Lebanon, Tajikistan, Sri Lanka, Laos and Philippines.

Mandate and Objectives:

The FSD's mission is to locate and destroy antipersonnel mines and unexploded ordnance to prevent accidents, to ensure safety and freedom of movement for civilian populations and to make safe relief and reconstruction programmes.

Mine Action

Organisation's added-value:

During the transitional and recovery phase after an armed conflict, a priority for governements and non-state actors emerging from violent conflict is to build confidence that peace can be sustained. This requires national authorities and aid agencies to repatriate refugees and to extend humanitarian assistance and governement services into former conflict areas. National elections are another important factor in reconciling post-conflict countries. Governments need legitimacy and want as many voters as possible to show up at voting centers. Many voters, however, can only participate once they have safe access to voting centers. Landmines and other explosive ordnance often hamper the mobility of populations as well as the staff of relief and development agencies. Landmines obstruct the peace building stages of post-war societies and thereby threaten a return to violent conflict.

Budget:
Other

Types of activities:

Capacity and development training

Direct project implementation

Project support services

Technical assistance

Description of activities

Capacity development and training:

In numerous mine and UXO affected countries, it will take decades to release the full territory. This is the reason why, an important issue is to build national capacities in countries of intervention. As much as possible, the FSD recrutes and trains its employees in the regions of intervention, taking into account gender issues / Sudan, Mozambique, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Burundi, Tajikistan, Irak, Albania, Kosovo, DR Congo, Afghanistan.

Providing its services in the field of mine action, the FSD is expertised in others fields of activities. At the request of the World Food Programme, for monitoring and prevention of a potential Bird Flew Pandemic, the FSD has deployed a medical coordinator to a emergency team based in Bangkok. During the Tsunami disaster in Asia, the FSD provided a senior specialist to initiate and coordinate the WFP operations in Banda Aceh (Indonesia). /Sudan, Mozambique, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Burundi, Tajikistan, Irak, Albania, Kosovo, DR Congo, Afghanistan, Indonesia.

Technical assistance:

The FSD assists national mine action authorities and NGO to increase their mine action capacities. One of the FSD's mission is also to support relief assistance by providing its expertise on emergency situations in case of mine and UXO contamination. By providing rapid mine action services, the FSD allows humanitarian workers to intervene in a safer environment. /Sudan, Mozambique, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Burundi, Tajikistan.